Spike in gun permits in Manchester, NH

MANCHSETER, N.H. (AP) — Police in Manchester, N.H., say they are seeking a spike in applications for pistol permits following a mass shooting at a Connecticut elementary school.

Capt. Nick Willard said the department sees about 25 permit applications per week, but that changed after the Dec. 14 shooting in which a gunman killed 20 children, six educators and himself after fatally shooting his mother in Newtown, Conn.

Willard tells WMUR-TV (http://bit.ly/WauXxW) the number has increased to 70 pistol permit applications per week.

At the current rate, Manchester police will process just about as many gun permit applications in 2013 as they did in the previous three years combined.

Willard said he's noticed more women and married couples are applying for guns, with the reason being self-defense.